It's All About the Experience

Vacations that let you dive into your destination on a deeper level are exhilarating, rejuvenating, and even life changing. Make your next trip transformative.

- Mirel Ketchiff & Michelle Tan

The best vacations are about more than just visiting a place. They let you become absorbed in the destination’s culture, people, and history. Think of it as the difference between peering through the window of a Jeep on safari and actually setting up camp in the bush with a naturalist.

Called experiential travel, it is “the number-one trend in vacations,” says Daniel Levine, a travel trends expert and the founder of the Avant-Guide Institute. “People have done the sightseeing tours, and now they’re looking to take things to a more intimate level.” Experiential trips are also fueled by our growing desire for authenticity. One study found that 74 percent of people would rather spend money on experiences than things—a mind-set that spills over into our travel, encouraging us to find ways to interact with locals and their way of life. “We all want to come home with a sense

of transformation after a getaway,” says Judith Fein, the author of